Ship & Grow 500k+ User Side Projects [Part 17] - Social Media

Social media is incredibly powerful, but there's a harsh power law where 90%+ of users can't extract anything useful from it. This lesson teaches you:

- Why social media is the most inorganic way to get users, which is why you probably shouldn't do it
- 2 of the more powerful social media channels for sharing side projects in particular
- Tips for getting traffic through LinkedIn and why it's a great fit
- How to leverage Reddit effectively, explained with an in-depth example
- The new era way to build a successful product through community and when social media makes sense for you as a traffic acquisition mechanism

Here's how Alex succeeds on LinkedIn: [\[Case Study\] How I Get 500,000+ LinkedIn Post Views Per Week](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tmSAAWJjLcLWqeGWOl4t/case-study-how-i-get-500000-linkedin-post-views-per-week/?playlistId=m62jZgEt7wpL1CC1OdHj)

If you're interested in the Reddit case study, here's the subreddit: <https://www.reddit.com/r/TheRaceTo10Million/>

What Makes A Good Growth Environment For Promotion

Which of the following is a great way to increase your scope?

True or false: It is good to work in a company where there are constantly too many problems to solve.

Why is there always a plentiful supply of problems to solve in high-growth tech companies?

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 10] - Friend-of-friend

Friendship is magic, especially when it comes to hiring great engineers. From this lesson, you will:

- Learn how to ask people for recommendations, without pre-filtering candidates, to identify strong potential hires
- Understand the importance of not pre-filtering based on market availability, as some candidates may be interested even if they aren’t actively looking
- Discover how using the recommender’s name in outreach can improve response rates

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/>

Become An Engineer Influencer [Part 18] - Limiting Beliefs

The Effect of Interest Rates

We walk through how macroeconomic conditions—especially interest rates—directly affect tech companies and tech workers.

- The federal funds rate guides how expensive it is for banks (and ultimately companies) to borrow money, and while near-zero rates felt normal recently, historically higher interest rates are actually the norm.
- When interest rates rise, the cost of borrowing increases, which makes companies far less willing to invest in long-term bets that may not pay off for several years.
- Because the tech industry is heavily driven by growth funded through borrowing and investment, higher rates trigger spending pullbacks, reduced hiring, and ultimately the contraction and layoffs we’re seeing across the market.

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 14] - ATS Lookup

When recruiting, you should do your best to ensure the best candidate experience. This is critical during the outreach phase. From this lesson, you will:

- Understand the necessity of verifying candidate information in the ATS to ensure they have not been recently rejected or contacted for other roles
- Learn about different ATS platforms like Greenhouse and Ashby, and how they can help manage candidate interactions
- Discover how to coordinate with recruiting teams to cross-check a list of potential candidates to avoid redundant or inappropriate contacts
- Gain insights into the typical cooling-off periods between rejections and new outreach, which can range from 6 to 12 months depending on company policy

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/>

The Story Behind Component Script

In this lesson, **Adam Ernst**, Software Engineer at **Meta**, reflects on one of the most ambitious—and ultimately unsuccessful—projects of his career: **ComponentScript**, a cross-platform UI framework designed to unify iOS and Android development. Although the framework was technically sophisticated and solved many engineering challenges, it failed to gain widespread adoption. Adam shares the key lessons he learned about product strategy, developer adoption, and why technical excellence alone is not enough to ensure success.

- **Technical Success Doesn't Guarantee Product Success:** ComponentScript delivered strong technical capabilities—including type safety, seamless integration with native frameworks, and bidirectional interoperability—but these strengths were not enough to drive widespread adoption.
- **Know Your Users and Focus Your Strategy:** One of the project's biggest shortcomings was failing to identify a clear target audience. By trying to appeal to both native mobile engineers and JavaScript developers, the framework ultimately resonated with neither. Adam also learned the importance of concentrating efforts on winning over a single committed team before attempting broad adoption.
- **Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity:** Adam openly documented ComponentScript's failure through a detailed postmortem, using the experience to share hard-earned lessons with the engineering community. His reflection highlights the value of transparency, continuous learning, and recognizing that successful engineering requires balancing technical excellence with usability, adoption, and organizational alignment.

Original podcast link: [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA_OYJF3Mmw**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA_OYJF3Mmw)

EM vs. IC

If you want direct interview support from Alex and Uzair, take their live Maven course with discount code **TARO10**: <https://maven.com/alex-kliotzkin/acing-em-interviews>

This segment breaks down the fundamental differences between the roles of individual contributors (ICs) and engineering managers (EMs), using a structured view to clarify the contrast in scope, responsibility, and domain expertise. It emphasizes how transitioning from IC to EM is a **career shift**, not a promotion, due to the shift in focus from implementation to strategy and people leadership.

- **ICs focus deeply on implementation and domain expertise**, such as full-stack, cloud, embedded, or AI systems. They are vertical specialists with strong knowledge in their technical area.
- **ICs also operate within the software engineering realm**, applying practices like CI/CD, agile processes, and architecture—but mainly to support their implementation work.
- **EMs must be experts in software engineering best practices**, not just to implement them but to ensure sustainable development and product integrity across the team.
- **The core domain of EMs is technical leadership**, which includes stakeholder management, translating business needs into technical goals, strategic planning, communication, and team mentorship (i.e. areas ICs typically don't engage with).
- **Managing both delivery and team dynamics** makes the EM role distinctly broader, requiring versatility across both technical and people-focused domains.

Become An Engineer Influencer [Part 8] - Bottom-Funnel Channels

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 22] - Building Diverse Teams

Tech has a massive diversity problem, and as a hiring manager, you shouldn't make that problem any worse (especially as diverse teams are scientifically proven to be better than homogeneous ones). From this lesson, you will:

- Recognize that common sourcing tactics like source-a-thons and friend-of-friend methods may introduce biases by yielding candidates similar to existing networks
- Learn strategies to actively promote diversity during the sourcing process, such as explicitly focusing on diversity in sourcing sessions to influence the diversity of the candidate pipeline
- Understand the importance of ensuring the top of the recruitment funnel is diverse, as this sets the stage for diverse hiring outcomes
- Discover ways to prioritize efforts in closing candidates, potentially focusing extra effort on diverse or outstanding candidates to ensure equitable recruitment practices

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/>

Maximize Your Equity And Benefits In Tech [Part 18] - Liquidity And Workarounds

Accessing retirement funds early can be tricky, but there are some strategic exceptions. Here’s the core points from the lesson:

- Withdrawing from 401(k)s or pre-tax IRAs before age 59.5 typically triggers a 10% penalty, though exceptions exist for things like first-time home purchases, disability, or high medical costs
- Roth IRA contributions (not earnings or conversions) can be withdrawn at any time, penalty- and tax-free, while Roth conversions require a five-year wait before penalty-free access
- Strategies like the Roth conversion ladder or 72(t) withdrawals (Substantially Equal Periodic Payments) can help bridge the gap if retiring before 59.5
- If you leave your job at 55 or older, you can take penalty-free withdrawals from that employer’s 401(k), and possibly from other plans rolled into it

Next steps with Andy:

- [Connect with Andy on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andymoranio)
- [Leave feedback and/or sign up for Andy’s newsletter](https://subscribepage.io/taroequitycourse)
- [Schedule a consultation](http://adastrafp.com/contact-us/)

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 24] - Recommended Tools

Many tools need to come together for a successful hiring campaign. From this lesson, you will:

- Learn about key tools for recruitment: LinkedIn Premium for unlimited profile searches, Mixmax and Ashby for email scheduling and outreach, and RocketReach for obtaining personal email addresses
- Understand how AI could change recruitment practices by automating personalized outreach, potentially making it more challenging to stand out among recruiters
- Recognize the importance of adapting strategies, such as increasing in-person engagements, to maintain effectiveness in recruitment as AI evolves

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/>

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 18] - Going Above & Beyond

Top engineers can be insanely hard to close, especially as you're often competing with FAANG for them. From this lesson, you will:

- Learn the importance of building a personal relationship with candidates throughout the interview process to increase the chances of closing them successfully
- Discover strategies for multiple touchpoints, such as sending personal emails from the team or senior leaders, to make candidates feel valued and wanted
- Understand how unique gestures like meeting in person or sending personalized gifts can significantly enhance the candidate's experience and likelihood of accepting the offer

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/>

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 9] - Source-a-thon

You don't need to only look outwards for candidates - They can often come from within, stemming from your current team! From this lesson, you will:

- Learn how to organize a Source-a-thon by creating a spreadsheet and having your team contribute potential candidates from their networks
- Understand the importance of warm outreach, including using a team member’s name for higher response rates
- Discover the benefits of conducting a Source-a-thon in a collaborative environment to generate more high-quality leads
- Realize the value of leveraging your team’s connections to source candidates who are likely to excel in the role based on previous work experiences

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/​](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/%E2%80%8B)

Taro Book Club: The Fundamentals of Data Engineering - Chapter 3 (Part 2)

Session led by [Gideon Blinick](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gideonblinick/)

Chapter 3 - Part 2: Designing Good Data Architecture

In our first session on Chapter 3, we learned the 9 principles of Good Data Architecture, which are largely based on Google's Principles of Cloud-Native Architecture and Amazon's Well-Architectured Framework.

Now we get less abstract and cover Major Architecture Concepts and Examples, including Domains and Services, Distributed Systems, Data Warehouses and Lakes, the Modern Data Stack, and so much more!

How Should I Practice For These Interviews?

In this lesson we talk about how AI is making previously time-prohibitive advanced data structures and algorithms newly relevant in coding interviews, and what that means for how you should prepare.

- **AI unlocks harder concepts by handling the boilerplate** — complex structures like tries, heaps, and LRU caches were rarely testable in a 45–60 minute interview because implementation alone could eat up 15–20 minutes; with AI generating that scaffolding in seconds, interviewers can now reasonably include them, making them worth studying once you've solidified the fundamentals.
- **What you actually need to demonstrate has shifted** — since AI handles much of the implementation, your value lies in recognizing when a given data structure is the right tool, clearly articulating *why* it helps (e.g. "a trie eliminates the factor of M by checking all patterns simultaneously through shared prefix traversal"), and writing precise prompts that reflect that understanding.
- **Master the basics first, and don't over-rotate on this** — the vast majority of interviews (roughly 95%) will not require these advanced concepts, so treat this as the final 5–10% polish layer, not the foundation; verification of AI output remains just as critical here as everywhere else in the interview.

The Case FOR Big Tech

We outline scenarios where Big Tech can be a highly advantageous career move—especially for early-career engineers or those seeking financial security and stability.

- **Ideal for Early-Career Engineers**: Big Tech provides a strong engineering foundation for those just out of college or with limited experience. Newer engineers are more adaptable to the culture and expectations.
- **Higher Workload Tolerance**: Younger professionals often have the energy and flexibility to handle the demanding pace and longer hours that come with Big Tech roles.
- **Minimal Habits to Unlearn**: Junior engineers aren’t “programmed” with habits from less rigorous environments, making it easier for them to succeed in fast-paced, high-standard teams.
- **Excellent Compensation**: For those with high financial needs—whether due to family obligations or living in expensive cities—Big Tech offers some of the most competitive compensation packages, including equity.
- **Job Stability**: These companies offer consistent employment for high performers, making them a good choice for those with lower risk tolerance who prefer predictability.

How Managers Hire Great Engineers [Part 13] - Get Their Email Address

Even though it's been around forever, email is still a great way to reach people. From this lesson, you will:

- Learn about Clearbit and its tendency to provide corporate email addresses, which may not be ideal for reaching out to potential candidates
- Discover how to use Gmail to predict personal email addresses by experimenting with common naming conventions
- Understand how to use social media handles as a potential lead to guess a candidate's email address
- Explore the use of MailTester to verify the existence of an email address by checking against SMTP servers
- Gain insight into Rocketreach as a highly recommended tool for retrieving personal contact details from LinkedIn profiles

Connect with John Egan on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwegan/Een)

Hiring Manager (Director+) Perspective

If you want direct interview support from Alex and Uzair, take their live Maven course with discount code **TARO10**: <https://maven.com/alex-kliotzkin/acing-em-interviews>

This segment of the course explains why understanding the mindset of the engineering manager (EM) hiring manager—typically a director or above—is critical for succeeding in EM interviews. It emphasizes that trust, not just competence, is the cornerstone of what these senior leaders are evaluating.

- **Trust is the foundation of EM hiring.** Directors operate in a world filled with ambiguity—changing priorities, unclear requirements, and frequent people challenges. They need leaders they can trust implicitly.
- **Competence is not enough.** While technical ability is important, directors are evaluating whether a candidate will help solve problems or become another issue that needs managing.
- **Reliability during adversity is crucial.** Senior leaders are asking: *Will this person make my life easier when things get tough?* Candidates must show they can thrive in uncertainty and still deliver results.
- **The hiring lens is risk-focused.** From the director’s perspective, hiring an EM is about minimizing risk. The ideal EM is a stabilizing force—someone who says, *“Trust me, I’ve got this”*—and actually means it.

ML System Design Framework

In this segment, we’re introduced to a powerful **5-part framework** for approaching ML system design interviews. This structured method ensures we address both technical depth and strategic thinking—key traits interviewers look for in strong candidates.

- **1. Problem Navigation**: We start by asking clarifying questions to understand functional and non-functional requirements, product goals, infrastructure constraints, and user experience. We define success metrics, state our assumptions, and frame the scope clearly.
- **2. High-Level Design**: We map business goals to ML objectives, walk through core system components (data ingestion, processing, modeling, inference, monitoring), and identify what needs to run in real-time versus batch.
- **3. Data Strategy & Feature Engineering**: We explain how data is collected and labeled, ensure data quality, and outline our approach to creating, storing, and updating features—including how we handle feature freshness and online/offline processing.
- **4. Modeling Approach**: We present specific model choices with trade-offs in interpretability, scalability, and accuracy. We detail training methods (batch, online, hybrid), address data distribution shifts, and outline infrastructure needs.
- **5. Evaluation, Deployment & Monitoring**: We describe offline evaluation strategies, deployment infrastructure (latency, model size, caching), and our plan for monitoring model health (drift, degradation) while tying results back to business KPIs.

Using this framework helps us think like **system-level ML engineers**, ensuring we cover everything from high-level goals to production-readiness with clarity and confidence.

If you want to learn even more from Yayun:

- Book 1 on 1 career guidance with her here: <https://calendly.com/your-friend-yayun/1on1>
- Follow her on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/yayunjin/>

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.